A former care facility could become home to 29 individual households, if plans are approved.

The Haven in Church Road, Tovil, near Maidstone, was deemed “inadequate” after a Care Quality Commission inspection was carried out following the death of a resident.

It was visited in December, but the report was not published until March.

Investigators found the care home “unsafe”, the leadership “ineffective” and said residents were at risk.

The business closed shortly after and all the residents have been found new places.

The building is still in the same ownership of Mr and Mrs Bhanji, of Kingston Road, south London.

The couple have now applied to Maidstone council for a change of use to allow the building to be used as a Home in Multiple Occupancy (HMO), housing 29 separate individuals, using the 29 rooms formerly occupied by the care home patients.

Each tenant would have his or her own room, all with ensuite sinks and toilets, and some with showers, There would be communal showers for those who did not have their own.

The ground floor of the building would be converted to a large shared kitchen with six hobs, plus there would be two communal living areas and a communal conservatory.

Parking spaces would be increased from five to nine, and some cycle racks would be provided.

The substantial building was once the vicarage to St Stephen’s Church, which was demolished in 1990, although you can still walk around its graveyard, and the building is still remembered in the Tovil Parish sign.

Details of the application can be found here. Application number 23/503311.

Tovil Parish Council considered the planning application on Wednesday. It is objecting to the application on the grounds of a lack of outside amenity space for the new residents, and an insufficient number of parking spaces, which cannot be mitigated by on-street parking because of the restricted parking availability in the area.

It said that although the care home could have had 29 residents previously, they were largely dementia patients who did not have a need for individual vehicles; the potential new residents would have a much greater need for personal transport.

The council considered that 29 individual rooms was an excessive use of the building and did not provide sufficient provision of personal facilities, such as showers.

The parish council has asked for the application to be called in for decision by the borough’s planning committee.